7 SIMI members escape from jail in Madhya Pradesh

October 01, 2013 09:21 IST

Seven members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India have escaped from a prison in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district. While jail authorities managed to nab one SIMI member, the rest are still on the run.

The prisoners sneaked out around 3 am, after breaking the wall of a toilet, according to media reports. Two policemen who tried to stop the prisoners were attacked with a knife and wounded.

A high alert has been issued following this escape, which took place as investigations into the operations of the radical outfit were coming to a close.

The SIMI members were jailed for the murder of a policeman and for carrying out a blast at a hospital in Khandwa.

The escape comes as a major setback to investigators as the inmates were part of the Safdar Nagori group, which launched SIMI six years back. This module originated from Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Following the arrest of the Nagori group, the operations of the SIMI has come to a halt.

A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the inmates. The Intelligence Bureau has sounded an alert in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states, as the SIMI members would try and cross over.